Deal reached with school support workers

Brampton Guardian

As the teacher’s dispute rumbles on, there was some relief for the province today with news that school support workers have accepted a tentative contract deal.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents non-teaching staff in both public and Catholic schools in Peel Region, announced that it would be recommending its members vote to accept new collective agreements that would freeze wages.
CUPE represents some 55,000 secretaries, library staff, food service workers and other employees who keep Ontario’s schools running.
Negotiations between CUPE and the provincial government have been rancorous and in November, 88 per cent of the union’s members had voted in favour of strike action.
At the time, the union’s Ontario president Fred Hahn accused Queen’s Park of “stonewalling” in talks following the passage of Bill 115, which allows the government to impose contracts on workers.
Today, however, CUPE announced it had reached a tentative deal with the government.
“This bargaining process has not been easy,” said Hahn. “With the looming threat of contracts being imposed by the province, bargaining in this climate of unnecessary chaos only hinders the process.”
Referring to Thursday’s announcement by Education Minister Laurel Broten that Bill 115 would be repealed in the future, Hahn said, “Bill 115 created a crisis and continues to do so, and it is disingenuous to use it to impose or threaten to impose contracts, then try to make amends by repealing it after the damage has been done.”
Elsewhere, the elementary teacher’s union has rebuffed Premier Dalton McGuinty’s request that its members resume extracurricular activities following the province’s decision to impose contracts on teachers. The Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario has advised its members to push the “pause button” on any non-mandatory activities.